It isn’t often that we have an Indian as a world champion. India's ace shuttler, P V Sindhu recently became a world champion – literally and in every sense of the word – by winning the BWF (Badminton World Federation) gold medal. This is a win probably as significant as the Olympic Gold that she had missed not so long ago.
No Indian has ever done this before – won a gold medal at the BWF World Badminton Championship. This is the premier event of the second most widely played sport in the world (badminton is second only to soccer).
She had won bronze medals in previous editions of the event and in 2017 and 2018, Sindhu had to settle for silver at the BWF championships. The fact that she has finally managed to win gold points to a dogged determination and a truly singular athletic talent. In one fell swoop, she has demolished the ‘choker’ tag that some used to use for her.
Many agree that this is one of the best ever achievements by an Indian sportsperson – either as an individual or as a team. Given the enormous popularity of badminton as a sport (an estimated 220 million people play badminton and only football boasts larger participation with about 265 million players.), particularly in Asia, this win of hers is a huge deal.
On 25 August 2019, Sindhu defeated Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the BWF finals. Not only did she defeat her, she demolished her in a masterful performance – winning 21-7, 21-7 by completely dominating her rival. This, many feel, is poetic justice for the epic battle two years ago at Glasgow when the two women had faced off during the 2017 BWF final – a 110-minute battle – which Okuhara had then managed to win.
If Sindhu was proud and emotional in her moment of great triumph, this is only understandable. An entire country cheered for her.
P V Sindhu’s achievements have positive impact beyond the obvious. They inspire little girls and women to dream that they too can fulfil their dreams; put their talent to use.
A naturally overwhelmed Sindhu spoke after her win and expressed her happiness and relief at finally claiming the gold medal. She also said that the gold medal was a gift for her mother whose birthday it was on that day.
This is a huge achievement by an Indian woman; however, there are unfortunately many who are more preoccupied with what a non-Indian man is doing – in cricket.
Someone joked about Akshay Kumar’s recent predilection for making patriotic movies about Indian achievers. After movies such as Gold, Mission Mangal and others, this wouldn’t surprise us.
So with the world championship under her belt, Sindhu now trains her sights on the next big prize: the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the elusive gold. India wishes her all the best.
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